M81 and Holmberg IX

M81, also known as Bode’s Galaxy, is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky. Discovered by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1774 it is located 11.6 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major.

The galaxy’s spiral arms, which wind all the way down into its nucleus, are made up of young, bluish, hot stars formed in the past few million years. They also host a population of stars formed in an episode of star formation that started about 600 million years ago. Ultraviolet light from hot, young stars is fluorescing the surrounding clouds of hydrogen gas. A number of sinuous dust lanes also wind all the way into the nucleus of M81.

To the left of the galaxy in this image is a blue ‘Blob”. Unclear what this is but could be ‘Holmberg IX’ a dwarf irregular galaxy created as a result of a galactic interaction between M81 and neighbouring galaxy M82.

Processed with Pixinsight, Blur Exterminator, Affinity, Star Exterminator, Topaz De-Noise/Sharpen